Gang Green Nation
Through 12 weeks and 11 games, the Jets are indeed making history…just not the kind anyone hoped for. They’ve gone 11 games without recording a single interception, a reality head coach Aaron Glenn summed up perfectly last week when he called it “unfathomable.” He’s right. Zero interceptions this deep into a season isn’t just bad, it’s historically bad.
On Sunday, the Jets officially became the first team in NFL history to start their first 11 games without an interception. And unless something changes quickly, they are on pace to keep rewriting the record books for all the wrong reasons. The NFL record for fewest interceptions in a season is two, set by the 2018 49ers, a team that also holds the longest single-season streak without a pick at 14 games. Jets fans will appreciate the irony: that defense was coordinated by none other than former Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
Across NFL non-shortened seasons, only six teams have finished with five or fewer interceptions in a season: the 2005 Raiders, 2008 Lions, 2020 Texans, 2018 49ers, and more recently the 2024 Giants and 2024 Browns. Not surprisingly, most of these examples are relatively recent. Interceptions are simply rarer than ever before. The league’s interception rate in 2025 sits at just 2.1%, currently on track to be the lowest in NFL history.
There’s been plenty of debate about whether turnovers lean more toward luck or skill. I won’t dive into the data here. It’s indisputable that luck does play a role, but when you reach an extreme edge case like this, it’s hard not to see it as a clear indictment of the defense’s talent and execution.
If you want a glass-half-full angle, here it is: teams that bottom out in interceptions usually bounce back the following year. The 2006 Raiders jumped from 5 picks to 18. The 2009 Lions went from 4 to 9. The 2019 49ers rose to 12, and the 2021 Texans climbed to 17. Even the 2025 Giants and Browns have already matched or surpassed last season’s totals. A dramatic Jets turnaround next year isn’t unrealistic, it’s likely.
There’s also real reason to expect the overall defense to improve. While they currently rank 26th in EPA/play, when you exclude turnovers (a metric that stabilizes more year to year) the Jets defense ranks a much more respectable 15th. And historically, Aaron Glenn’s defenses haven’t struggled to generate interceptions. His Detroit units finished 5th and 11th in that category over the past two seasons.
So yes, this season’s been historically bad in terms of defensive playmaking. But with likely roster changes coming this offseason and defensive metrics suggesting the potential for underlying competence, hope isn’t lost. Still, it’s important to recognize just how unprecedented this slump has been. Now let’s just hope we never see anything like it again.
